Peak Performance: Tips You Can Use
Volume 5,  Issue 9 
September 2013
  
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Fall in Colorado
 Responding to Change

Change is Afoot

 

As the seasons change, our interests switch from baseball to football, and from mowing the lawn to raking the leaves. The busy summer gives way to a quieter fall, and you may have more time to implement some of your 2013 plans before the end of the year.

 

Changes you plan

Planning for something new can be exciting. You have a clean slate, a blank canvas and perhaps a stirring vision. This is the fun part, where you can envision the outcome the way you want it. Planned changes, such as adopting electronic medical records (EMR) or implementing digital imaging, may further your practice mission and goals. This is a good time to get people interested and excited about what you wish to do, and involve them in the planning process. What kind of training may be needed? Who should have it and where will they get it? What are the space requirements, if any? Where can you buy what you need and what will it cost? How quickly can you start? Do you have a colleague who has tried it and may have pertinent advice? Develop a timeline for implementing the change, and involve others in hashing out the details. Coming up with the idea, no matter how scientifically you approach it, is the easy part. Implementation can be a bear. A vision may guide and inspire the change, but you will need an action plan to make it a reality.

 

Unexpected changes

Not all changes come out of a planning process. Change that catches you by surprise, such as a key employee giving notice, must be taken in stride. Your staff looks to you to know how to react. Is the news good or bad? Should they be angry? Worried? Even if the news catches you off guard, find a way to accept it gracefully. Focus on what needs to be done to ensure future success rather than on the reason for the change.

 

Unexpected changes provide opportunities to reevaluate your systems and protocols and choose the best way to move forward. Consider a formula put forth by Jack Canfield, one of the creators of the "Chicken Soup for the Soul" book series, and the author of The Success Principles. Jack's formula is E + R = O, where E is the Event, R is your Reaction to the Event, and O is the Outcome. As Jack explains, often you can't control the event itself; it will happen (or already has happened) no matter what you do or how you feel about it. The only way you can manipulate the outcome is to adjust your own reaction. It's a simple concept. Too often, we think we can control the event with our reaction - convince the employee to stay or the city to grandfather a zoning issue, for example. Unfortunately, the event is usually out of our control to fix. The sooner we accept that and let go of the emotional reaction to the change, the sooner we can adapt to the new situation.

 

Reacting to change

Most people dislike change. When the change involves learning a new system (EMR), bringing in a new employee or following new rules (such as those for compounded drugs), change evokes fear. No matter how much planning you do in advance, the switch generally requires most of your doctors and staff to learn a new system or implement new procedures. Encourage employees to work together, and assign the job of writing up step-by-step instructions. Without sufficient training, some staff may forge ahead blindly, unwilling to admit that they don't understand the new protocol.

 

Reactions to change run the gamut from anger, fear and anxiety, to optimism, excitement and relief. You probably know your employees well enough to predict their reactions to the upcoming change. When it comes to change, there are at least four types of people: 

  • The "eager adopter", whether as a champion of this particular change or simply a fan of all things new, will jump in with both feet. These folks are eager to try something new and never look back. Nurture these cheerleaders because their enthusiasm can be infectious.
  •  A "cautious acceptor" may watch from the sidelines at first, but is generally willing to try new things. Seek out questions from these employees and give them more information to help them get comfortable with the change. Ask them to train others, and they may become "eager adopters.'
  • A "foot-dragger" would prefer to preserve the status quo, even if they didn't like it. Left on their own, their distrust in "newness" may turn to passive aggressiveness. Remind these people why the change is necessary and talk about the expected benefits to your patients, your clients and your staff. Openly praise them for using new procedures.
  • You may find the "active resistor" resorting to the old way of doing things. Some "resistors" may insist they are not capable of doing things differently. Reinforce the need for the change and ask for their help in achieving 100% adoption. Is different training needed? Are they afraid to try a new process for fear of breaking expensive equipment? Or is it simply a power struggle? Drill down to each objection and address it. Make it clear that adopting the change is mandatory, not a choice.

Gossip, a constant challenge, often escalates during periods of change. Arm your staff with information so they know what's happening, why and when. The more information they have, the less susceptible they are to rumor and conjecture. Expect to deal with frustration, from your employees as well as yourself. Frustration is a natural part of the process of change. Changing behavior is difficult and requires constant reinforcement. Be open to feedback, both positive and negative, but don't accept complaints unless they are delivered with at least one possible solution.

 

Whether eagerly embraced or actively avoided, the one thing that is constant is change. Where will the next change take you?